Railway-rail joint.



No. 869,479. PATBNTED OCT. 29. 1907. T. B. GHEEK.

RAILWAY RAIL JOINT.

APELIGATION FILED NOV. 12, 1906.

12;" J/ I' 0? 13 B a V llllllllllllllii n I My mu 40%; 450W THOMAS E. CHEEK, OF MATTOON, ILLINOIS.

RAILWAY-RAIL JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 29, 1907.

Application filed November 12. 1906. Serial No. 343,039.

To all tUhO'H'L it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS 13. CHEEK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mattoon, in the county of Coles and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Rail Joints, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to railway rail joints; and it has for its object to provide a simple, compact and inexpensive rail joint embodying such a construction that the rails are rendered stronger at the joint than at any other point, and free expansion and contraction are permitted without the continuity of the rails being affected or the strength of the joint diminished.

To the attainment of the foregoing object, the invention consists in the peculiar and advantageous construction hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims appended.

In the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof: Figure l is a side elevation of the rail joint constituting the present and preferred embodiment of my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the joint, taken in the plane indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken in the plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. i is an inverted plan view of the joint, and: Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the rails comprised in the joint.

Similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawings, referring to which:

A A are the rails forming part of my novel rail joint, and 1% and C respectively indicate the transverse bolts and the nuts through the medium of which I prefor to fixedly connect the meeting portions of the rails together.

The two rails A are identical in construction, and therefore a detail description of the one shown in Fig. 5 will sufiice to impart a full and clear understandhrg of both. The said rail A, Fig. 5, comprises the usual base a, web I) and tread c. It is peculiar, however, in that it has a longitudinal portion, preferably one half, of its base cut away to form a transverse shoulder 1), while the end portion of its tread is cut away to form a transverse or square abutment E. It is also peculiar in that it has a lapping portion F formed by the cutting away of the base and tread as described. The said lapping portion comprises a semi-base d and a web a which latter, by reason of the offset f best shown in Fig 2, lies at one side of the longitudinal vertical center of the rails and is almost as thick as the webs b of the rails so as to contribute to the strength and durability of the joint. portion F is beveled at its inner side where it merges into the web b of the rail, as indicated by g, and they outer end of the said web 0 is extended beyond the semibase 61 so as to form tongue h which is beveled at its inner side to snugly lit and occupy the bevel g of the complementary rail. This tongue h corresponds in The inner end of the web a of the lapping height to the web 6 of the lapping portion F and the web I) of the major part of the rail for an important purpose which will be hereinafter pointed out.

In assembling the rails and forming my novel joint, the rail portions F are lapped, and the bolts B are passed tln'ough registered elongated openings G in the webs e or said portions F and the nuts 0 are turned on the threaded ends of the bolts. With this done, it will be apparent that by virtue of the oblong or elongated openings G free expansion and contraction of the rails, due to heat and cold, is permitted, and this without affecting the continuity of the connection between the rails or impairing the strength and durability of the joint. This latter is largely due to the fact that the webs c of the lapped portions F are of even height throughout their length, and the further fact that the tongue h of each rail rests between the base and tread of the other rail and is free to slip against the bevel g of such other rail. it will further be apparent that the lapped portions F of the rails and hence the novel joint as a whole are adapted to rest on several sleepers or ties with the result that the joint is supported in a stable manner and is no more liable to sag under weight than other portions of the rails.

The arrangement of the webs c of the lapped portions F at one side of the longitudinal vertical centers of their respective rails obviously contributes to a 1na terial extent to the strength and durability of the joint and renders the same quite as strong it not stronger than the remainder of the rails; and it will also be apparent that the said lapped webs a, each of which is lapped through the medium of its tongue IL with the web I) of the complementary rail, serve to hold the treads of the rails in strict alincment and in that way assure the continuity of the wheel support afforded by the rails.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that in addition to its simplicity and clreapness my novel joint is eminently practical and is well adapted to withstand the usage to which. rail joints are ordinarily subjected.

The construction shown and described is the preferred embodiment of my invention but I desire it understood that in practice such changes or modifications may be made as fairly fall within the scope of my invention as claimed.

1 claim 1. A railway rail joint comprising rails having halves of their bases discontinued to r'orm transverse shoulders and their treads discontinued to term transverse abutnrents disposed in advance of the transverse shoulders, and also. having lapped portions provided with semi-bases and webs; the said webs of the hipped portions tcrminat ing in tongues which extend beyond the semi-bases and correspond in height to the webs, and means connecting the lapped portions of the rails together.

2. A railway rail joint comprising rails having halves of their bases discontinued to .form transverse shoudcrs and their treads discontinued to form transverse abutments disposed in advance of the transverse shoulders, and also havinglapped portions disposed at one side of the longitudinal vertical center 01' the rails and provided with semi-bases and webs; the said webs of the lapped portions having elongated openings and terminating at their inner ends in offsets and at their outer ends in tongues which extend beyond the semi-bases and correspond in height to the Webs, in combination with bolts extending through the apertures of the lapped portions, and means [0 for preventing casual displacement of the bolts.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

THOMAS B. CHEEK.

lVitnesses WILLIAM McCRoTTY, JOHN L. BENNETT. 

